This invention generally relates to occupant detection systems for a vehicle. More specifically, this invention relates to a mounting device of an occupant detection system for a vehicle with a seat assembly.
With the increased use of airbag technologies, the need has arisen to provide an occupant detection system for sensing whether or not an occupant is present within a seat assembly and, in some situations, to determine the approximate size of the occupant. The apparatus of the Mehney et al. reference (U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,344), to some extent, satisfies these needs. The apparatus includes a vehicle seat frame and a weight sensor apparatus with a mounting member. When using the apparatus of the Mehney et al. reference, a compressing force tending to compress the vehicle seat frame toward the vehicle travels through the weight sensor apparatus. A pulling force tending to pull the vehicle seat frame from the vehicle, however, also travels through the weight sensor apparatus. Because of this arrangement, the mounting member of the apparatus must be designed with extra material, and extra weight, to accommodate both the compressing forces and the pulling forces.
Accordingly, this invention provides for an occupant detection system for a vehicle that overcomes the problems and disadvantages of the conventional techniques in the art.
Briefly the invention includes an occupant detection system for a vehicle including a seat assembly and a mounting device. The mounting device includes a first member connected to the seat assembly, a second member connectable to the vehicle and connected to the first member at a first point, a floating joint located at a second point engageable with the seat assembly and with the vehicle, and a load sensor located on one of the first member and a second member between the first point and the second point. A compressing force tending to compress the seat assembly toward the vehicle travels through the load sensor, while a pulling force tending to pull the seat assembly from the vehicle travels through the floating joint.